From Belarusian prison to a gastronomy business in Vilnius: “Our home is already here”

Irina and Mikhail Serezhonok, a couple from Belarus, opened a popular bakery called “Dvi bandelės” (Two Loaves) in central Vilnius after fleeing their home country, LRT.lt reports.

The Serezhonoks arrived in Lithuania three years ago following a forced emigration. Before their departure, they were detained for participating in the 2020 protests in Belarus and each spent three months in prison. After their release, the family lost their business in Belarus.

In Lithuania, the couple worked to adapt to their new life. Their sons started attending school, while Irina and Mikhail began learning Lithuanian. The idea for the bakery came from their love of sourdough bread. Irina says she follows Lithuanian political events to feel part of the community and admits she has faced no integration issues in Lithuania.

On a typical Friday morning, customers at “Dvi bandelės” start their day with a cup of coffee. Regular visitors include a woman with two corgis and a Samoyed, whom Irina calls “the girls.” She speaks to the dog owner in Lithuanian, with a slight accent but confidently.

“[Customers] always praise my language. It doesn’t matter if I make a mistake or say something incorrectly—they correct me. They really praise me for speaking Lithuanian. Their compliments motivate me,” Irina told LRT.lt.

Before their arrest, the Serezhonoks ran a children’s clothing store in Belarus for a decade. Their business operated until 2022, when they were detained at home in front of their children and sentenced to three months in prison. Irina recalls the difficulty of the experience, especially with their children living with their grandmother at the time.

The reason for their detention was the same as for tens of thousands of other Belarusians who participated in the 2020 protests against the falsification of presidential election results. Irina says that before these events, it seemed as if two separate worlds existed in Belarus—the state and private business—that rarely intersected. Everything changed after August 2020.